Is Your Child Smarter than An Ape?

An experiment has revealed that most children surpass the intelligence levels of chimpanzees before they reach four years old.

The experiment, which was done by a group of researchers and led by Professor Thomas Suddendorf at, tested for foresight, which is said to distinguish humans from animals, according to Daily Mail.

The experiment saw researchers drop a grape through the top of a vertical plastic Y-tube.

The researchers then monitored the reactions of a child and chimpanzee in their efforts to grab the grape at the other end, before it hit the floor.

 Because there were two possible ways the grape could exit the pipe, researchers looked at the strategies the children and chimpanzees used to predict where the grape would go.

The apes and the two-year-olds only covered a single hole with their hands when tested.

But by four years of age, the children had to develop to a level where they knew how to forecast the outcome, and they covered the holes with both hands, catching whatever was dropped through every time

Prof Suddenorf said that the experiment tested foresight.

His research suggests humans are not born with this ability, and it develops as our brains develop.  

‘We were trying to come up with a way for young children or other animals to demonstrate that they understood the future was uncertain, and prepare for one or multiple events,’ Prof Suddendorf said. 

In his work, Prof Suddendorf investigates the mental capacities in young children and in animals to answer fundamental questions about the nature and evolution of the human mind. 

N.H.Kh